Jamie Vardy Reportedly a Doubt for England's World Cup Quarter-Final with Sweden

England forward Jamie Vardy is reportedly a major doubt for the team's FIFA World Cup quarter-final on Saturday due to a thigh injury.

According to Sam Wallace of the Daily Telegraph, Vardy had an injection following the clash with Colombia on Tuesday night after picking up the problem five minutes into extra time. 

The Leicester City man came on as an 88th-minute substitute in the knockout contest, which England won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports News reported that the issue meant he was unable to take England's fifth penalty, with Eric Dier the man who eventually stepped up to take the decisive effort:

"Southgate’s policy towards penalty takers is that they must be fit and comfortable to strike," said Wallace. "The planning was that no injured players should take a penalty and Vardy was honest about his situation, otherwise he would have been on the list."

The forward posted the following on his Twitter account after the memorable victory for England:

Vardy was expected to cause plenty of problems for a tired Colombia defence when he was introduced into the game prior to extra time, although he didn't appear to be his vibrant self.

While he would be unlikely to start the fixture against Sweden anyway, manager Gareth Southgate will hope to have the 31-year-old available to provide a different option if things aren't going to plan. When matches become stretched, Vardy can be a major threat.

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As Kyle Martino of NBC Sports noted after the game, it's been quite the remarkable rise for the Foxes star:

England haven't been short of potency up top in this tournament, as captain Harry Kane is the leading scorer at the World Cup with six goals as things stand.

The Three Lions are in the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 2006 having won a penalty shootout at the World Cup for the first time in the nation's history. Dier was the man who scored the dramatic winner after England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had earlier stopped Carlos Bacca's strike.